Annual Meeting September 24, 2016 - Texas Conservation Alliance of National Forest Lands Educational Outreach Free Resources 2014 Photo Gallery Texas Forest Country 2016 Photo Gallery East Texas Images MEMBER ORGS CONTACT Search Annual Meeting September 24 2016 TCA Annual Meeting Features Day in the Woods TCA invites you to join us at the Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area in the Davy Crockett National Forest for a day of nature fun Saturday September 24 Experienced nature guides will share the mysteries of East Texas diverse bottomland forests on hikes of varying lengths There ll be music and programs and an opportunity to connect with friends and with Texas amazing outdoor world Organize a group of friends students scouts or club members to take advantage of this exceptional opportunity to get to know nature with people who are familiar with every animal tree and mushroom The Davy Crockett National Forest named for the legendary pioneer contains more than 160 000 acres of East Texas woodlands streams recreation areas and wildlife habitat Located in Houston and Trinity Counties the forest is centrally located within the Neches and Trinity River basins The Davy Crockett National Forest was proclaimed a National Forest by President Franklin Roosevelt on October 15 1936 Click here for more

Water Recycling: the Wave of the Future! - Texas Conservation Alliance to offer single stream recycling paper plastic metal cardboard and glass all collected in the same container and picked up regularly But what about our most precious resource water Every day tens of thousands of gallons of water are drawn from lakes in the north Texas area purified in water treatment plants piped into our homes and businesses then washed or flushed down drains and sewers The water that goes down the drain is captured and treated enough to release into creeks and rivers But what if we could return that water to our reservoirs and re use this valuable resource Is it possible to recycle water The answer is YES Recycling water is not only possible it s a great idea The future of wise water planning for Texas calls not only for smarter water use through conservation but also for water recycling There are two major ways to recycle water One of these filtering through created wetlands is already in place just minutes south of Dallas At the East Fork Wetland just minutes south of Dallas wastewater is pumped from the Trinity River into a 1 840 acre constructed wetland The wetland acts as a natural filter to remove contaminants from the water while at the same time creating habitat for wildlife and a beautiful area for recreation and education This naturally filtered water is then pumped back into Lake Lavon providing water supply and improving water quality and the aquatic habitat of the lake Another approach to recycling water is the use of ultra filtration With ultra filtration water is filtered through membranes with tiny pores a fraction of a micron in size that remove bacteria viruses and other harmful organisms It is then subjected to ultraviolet light and chemicals already used in water treatment This carefully

Water Recycling is All the Rage! - Texas Conservation Alliance usage technology meant computers but now it applies to cellphones and all manner of digital gewgaws But common ground for the three Wasn t happening until now Water recycling is all the rage today It s everywhere from Melbourne Australia to Anaheim Calif from Big Spring Texas to West Virginia And why is this happening Because of technology And common sense East Fork Wetland Water recycling uses high tech membrane filters to turn municipal effluent into clean safe drinking water The process starts with filters with tiny microscopic pores and then uses ultraviolet light and common chemicals like chlorine to reclaim and reuse water The water is then put into a lake or an aquifer and later goes back into the municipal water system Water recycling can also be accomplished by the use of man made wetlands a feat of engineering technology and nature Filtering water through hundreds of acres of native plants cleans the water through natural biological processes These much smaller wetlands provide as much water as huge reservoirs and also provide beautiful habitat for wildlife recreation and research With our population growing not just in North Texas but around the world we need to use our resources wisely That s common sense It s also good sense to address our needs in ways that are cost efficient and can be put into use at the local level in a reasonable time frame We should also keep in mind that nature provides natural capital assets that translate into economic value Trees can shade houses and cut our utility bills Wind can provide electricity In similar fashion water is a natural capital asset As North Texas grows we will have to deal with more wastewater When it s recycled and reused wastewater becomes an asset If we capture it

Opposing Unnecessary Reservoirs - Texas Conservation Alliance Ridge Reservoir Protection of National Forest Lands Educational Outreach Free Resources 2014 Photo Gallery Texas Forest Country 2016 Photo Gallery East Texas Images MEMBER ORGS CONTACT Search Opposing Unnecessary Reservoirs Date January 1 2015 Category Water Recycling Reuse Bald Eagle at Rocky Shoals by Adrian Van Dellen TCA helps build broad based coalitions of landowners businesspeople timber industry managers and workers tourism officials sportsmen scientists civic leaders and conservationists to oppose unneeded reservoir projects For 13 years TCA has led efforts to stop the proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir The reservoir would force thousands of people off their land inundate 70 000 acres of vital bottomland wildlife habitat drown 50 miles of the beautiful Sulphur River and be devastating to the timber and agribusiness economy of a 15 country region in Northeast Texas The fight over Marvin Nichols is one of the hottest resource issues in Texas and will require many years of concentrated effort to stop the building of this unneeded 3 4 billion reservoir project Other reservoirs are also being proposed TCA recently generated extensive coverage in the Abilene area about the drawbacks of the proposed Cedar Ridge Reservoir on the Clear Fork of the Brazos River This proposal